Winterized vegetable oil and process of producing the same



iatented Aug. 19, 1952 WINTERIZEDVEGETABLE OIL A-NDPROKJESS.

OF PRODUCING THE SAME Arnold L. Ayers and Cleveland R. Scott, Bart-les- No Drawing. Application November 25,

Serial No. 129,494

. 8 Ciaims.

The present invention relates to the treatment of vegetable oils, for example cottonseed oil, linseed oil, corn oil, olive oil and the like. In one of its aspects the invention relates to the addition of certain stabilizers to vegetable oils which, as known, have a tendency to solidify or to throw out solid materials when kept at lower temperatures as when under refrigeration. v

As stated, it is known that when a vegetable oil such as cottonseed oil is kept at refrigerator temperatures, stearin crystallization in the oil will occur making its appearance objectionable. Also, cottonseed oil containing an appreciable proportion of stearin is not satisfactory for use inthe preparation of emulsions; for example; mayonnaise, because at refrigerator temperatures the stearin crystals seed out and cause breaking of the emulsion and-concomitant oil separation.

The conventional winterization of vegetable oils, such as cottonseed oil, is effected by maintaining the oil at a lowtemperature and for a time sufiicient to crystallize therefrom the components thereof which are crystallizable under ordinary storage conditions. Thus, it is common practice to seed cottonseed oil long enough and at a sufiicientlylow t'emperatureto produce an oil fraction which will withstand a temperature-o'f about 32 F. for about ten hours. Forthe better products which are used in preparing commercial emulsions, requiring handling and shipping in winter weather when extremely low temperatures prevail for days, the'cold test is fifteen totwenty hours and inthe caseof some oils even a longer period. Following; the cold: treatment, the oil is filtered anddeodorized toprepare a salad oil.

It is evident from the foregoing that the winterization of vegetable oils, as described, is an expensive space, equipment, and time consuming operation.

Thus, to avoid the expense attendant upon winterization, the so-called hard constituents of vegetable oils, that is, the components which crystallize out, on standing at low temperatures, such as stearin and. palmitin, have been allowed to at least in part remain in the oils and certain additives or stabilizers have been admixed therewith to prevent the crystallization of the said hard constituents at low temperatures for substantial lengths of time.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide novel additives or stabilizers to prevent ville, Okla, 'assignors to Phillips Petroleum Goinpany, a corporation of Delaware the crystallization of hardv constituents from vegetable oils upon standing at low temperatures. It is also among the objects of the invention to provide novel compositions; of. vegetableoils and certain additives, which compositions are stable against said crystallization. of; hard constituents upon standing for long periods of time at low temperatures.

Other objects and advantages are apparent from this specification and the appended claims.

According to this invention there is added to a vegetable oil a stabilizingagent selected from the group of oily substancesconsisting ofcoconut oil, petrolatum, linoleic acid dimer, which may contain some oleic acid, lanolin, lactic acid and a Cellosolve ester e. g. glycolmonoethyl ether acetate. The addition of the stabilizer canbe accom lished either before" or after the usual Winterizing process when it is to be: employed. When effected, winterization can be made less severe with a concomitant savings of expense: ii the additives of the invention are used. It; is to be noted that when Winterizing is made less severe, or dispensed with altogether, there is a corresponding increase inthe yield of stable oil. Cellosolve esters are toxic materials and their use is confined to the preparation of product which will not be used for food purposes.

The addition of. the stabilizers of. this, invention can be accomplished readily, mere; admixture being sufiicient to prepare a homogeneous product. Usually about 0.1% to about 10%, preferably about 1% to about 3%, of stabilizer, by weight of the oil to be stabilized, will be used.

The following examples illustrate. the invention. In the: table, to: be noted are the comparisons with the untreated or control cottonseed oil and with the oilto which lecithin has been added as a stabilizer, lecithin being known for-this pur- EXAMPLE I Stabilizing of cottonseed o'il Samples were prepared by adding 2 per cent by weight of each test material to refined, unwlnterized cottonseed oil. Each sample was sealed in a 3 ounce bottle and immersed into a constant temperature bath at 5 C. A sample of refined, unwinterized cottonseed oil and a sample containing lecithin were used as control standards. Observations and comparisons with the standard samples were made hourly. When a sample bei 3 came completely solid, it was removed from the bath and observations were no longer recorded.

The table is a record of the hourly observations of the various materials tested. The following terms were used to indicate the appearance of the samples from clear to completely solid:

Clear-transparent and unchanged from the original appearance.

Haze-opaque or slightly cloudy, but completely fluid and only a slight increase in apparent viscosity.

Cloudy-includes any stage of solidification from haze to semi-solid. Generally very viscous. Semi-solid--indicates that part of the sample has been completely solidified. leaving only part of the sample in a fluid state. Solid-indicates that the sample has completely solidified.

Reasonable variation and-modification are possible within the scope of the above disclosure and the appended claims to the invention, the essence of which is that certain substances, as set forth, have been discovered to be very satisfactory stabilizing agents for vegetable oils.

TABLE Control Petro- Dimer C90, Lecithin, Coconut Oil latum Armour 2 Lanolm Cotton; G11 d d 01 R seed O11 Obs. 1 hr. at 5 C-- Clear Cloudy Clear Cloudy Haze Haze. Obs. 2hrs. at 5 C Haze do d 0.--. 0.--. Do Obs. 3 hrs. at 5 C do Obs. 4 hrs. at 5 Obs. 5 hrs. at 5 Obs. 6 hrs. at 5 Obs. 7 hrs. at 5 l Solid. Obs. 70 hrs. at 5 C.-. Semi-Solid Solid 1 At this point the sample was removed from the bath. 2 Linoleic acid dimer with some oleic acid present.

EXAMPLE II Stabilizing of cottonseed oil Thirty gms. cottonseed oil containing 2 per cent lactic acid was maintained at 0 C. for 48 hours. It remained fluid and there was no apparent change.

EXAMPLE III Stabilizing of cottonseed oil using ethylene glycol monoethyl ether acetate Amount Additive (Percent) Temperature C. Efiect Solid.

No Change.

Very Cloudy but still fluid.

We claim:

1. A vegetable oil containing from 0.1 to 10% of a stabilizer selected from the group consist ing of coconut oil and lanolin.

2. A vegetable oil containing from 1% to 3% of a stabilizer selected from the group consisting of coconut oil and lanolin.

3. The process of Winterizing a vegetable oil which comprises the step of adding to the oil a stabilizer selected from the group consisting of coconut oil and lanolin.

4. Cottonseed oil containing from 0.1% to 10% of a stabilizer selected from the group consisting of coconut oil and lanolin.

5. A vegetable oil containing from 0.1 per cent to 10- per cent of coconut oil as a stabilizer.

6 The process of Winterizing a vegetable oil which comprises the step of adding to the oil coconut oil as a stabilizer.

7. Cottonseed oil containing from 0.1 per cent to 10 per cent of coconut oil as a stabilizer.

8. The process of Winterizing cottonseedpil which comprises the step of adding to the oil coconut oil as a stabilizer.

ARNOLD L. AYERS. CLEVELAND R. SCOTT;

REFERENCES CITEl) f The following references are of recordin the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

1. A VEGETABLE OIL CONTAINING FROM 0.1% TO 10% OF A STABILIZER SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF COCONUT OIL AND LANOLIN. 